PGHtrooper21

Tonight I began to clean up the faceplate “eyes†and “teethâ€. I used a “Hobby knife†that I picked up at Harbor Freight Tools. I liked this one better that my other “Xacto bladeâ€. The reason is that it has a rubber grip for better support. I also picked up a “Stainless Steel Fillet Glove†to protect my other hand. Also, I used “jeweler’s files†as well. I first used the “Hobby blade†to trim the area. Then I used the “jeweler’s files†to smooth it out. There were three types of “files†I used were, a flat, round and an oval one. The flat one was used on the “teethâ€, while all three were used on the eyes. I tried to get an even “rectangle†shape. I kept filling till I thought it look right. I did noticed that made the smallest left side one a little wider that the one on the far right. For the “eyes†I started out with a “utility blade†to get some of the rough edges out, and then I went to the “files†to smooth them out. I also used the “hobby blade†to round out the “inner points†of the eyes. Then I used the oval and round “files†to get the “round†look. I used the flat file and the others as well and kept filling by tracing out the “eye shape†by going over and over and over. After I was done, I wet a paper towel and wiped off the dust and used a dry piece of paper towel to dry the face plate. How does it look so far? Andy

What do you think? How are the eyes and teeth? How much more should I trim off the “ear caps� Andy

Next up, I began to work on the back part of my helmet. I drilled out the center hole and cut out the trim line. I used a “hole punch†at the top corner so the corner will not split. I got this from studying “Mike’s†build. Thanks for this helpful tip!!!!! After that, I got out my “brow trim†from ‘Seals Direct’ “Square U Channel†“no52â€. I put the trim on the brow marked off where I need to trim it and cut it and placed it on. Then I got the front “Face plate†and lined up the center holes and screwed in a screw on each side to see how it looks.

Next up was the teeth. I am going for “ANH Stuntâ€. I got the drill and drilled out the teeth with the two drill bits that I used on the “ear capsâ€. When that was finished I used my “Xacto bade with a point tip. I put the tip in the back and started to carve it out. I then went to the front and trim there too. I kept doing that till I felt that it looked right. I was doing that till I finished all the teeth. Then I used “jeweler’s files†and “sandpaper’ to smooth out the roughness. When that was finished I drilled out the center hole on the side and cut out the “Flare†with “curved scissorsâ€.

After that was done, I began to work on the “face†of the Helmet. I drew out lines on the eyes with a pencil and drilled some holes in the eyes for me to get my blade in to cut it out. I started out first using the “utility blade†and then I used the ‘Xacto knifeâ€. I was thankful I had on my gloves. I slipped and cut my glove. I got a little nick. If I did not have the glove on I would have went to the ER. Using both types of blades came in handy with trimming out the eyes. Especially, in the corners where it gets tight. After, the eyes were cut out; I used some sandpaper to smooth out the edges.

After taking a long break I decided to get back to my armor build. I decided to begin my helmet. After studying different builds and looking at “Mikes†helmet builds I decided to take a leap and go for it. For a while I wanted to put the helmet until last. I wanted to get skilled with working with my armor. The last few weeks I was getting the urge to continue and finish up my AP Armor. Thanks again to “Mike on his fantastic builds. The first thing I did when working on my helmet was the “ear capsâ€. I decided to drill out the “screw holes†first. I did this because While looking at the “Caps†I felt that it was more secure to hold on the big piece together than cutting out the “ear caps†and slipping up and drilling a hole into the kitchen table. When I was drilling I was two different size bits. “1/8†and a “3/32â€. I started out with the “3/32†then used the “1/8â€. What made me do this was studying the “screw hole†at the bottom of the “Ear Capâ€. It is there but it is not as defined as the “screw holes†on the other two. After I drilled out the holes, I began to trim out the “ear capsâ€. First I used a “carpenter’s pencil†to mark out the “cut linesâ€. Then I used my “utility blade†and a “xacto knife†to start to score out the “capsâ€. For the lower part of the “caps†I tried to cut below the lines because I know how tricky the caps can be when fitting them on the helmet.

Hi Matt, I have an AP Suit. I just used a pencil to trace the trim lines and then used a utility knife to score and snap. Take your Time and go Slowly while doing this. Also make sure you have extra blades and use gloves to save you from any trips to the E.R. My thread is posted. I am in the final stages. I am not going to paint my suit. I like the scuff marks from building. To me it makes it look more authentic. Andy

Someone posted here somewhere that the spring that they used they used on their "pipe build" was a coat hanger wrapped around a Broomstick. Andy

Your work is top notch!!! I have both the Hero and Stunt Hand guards. Do not let someone let you down. You have Excellent work.! Andy

Here is my next project that I am going to be working on. I have a “BTAF†APPROVED, DUMMY, Non Firing, Display, Replica, Sterling LA23. After searching for a few months, since IMA sold their last one in mid February for $700.00, I picked this up from “Unique Canes and Military Replicas†www.uniquecanes.com for $ 399.00. I was very impressed with the service. They cut the magazine and offered to make the “scope and counter rail. I decided to let them to take care of the magazine and I wanted to work on the “scope and counter rail. I have a “Real Henglester 400 and a M40 Scope†to add on to it. I found “Car Cell†charging cord that I am going to use for the wires. My counter has a plastic sleave. I am going to trim out the plastic covering to show the “Eagle and the name Henglesterâ€. I will use the templates to create the “Power Cylinders†and add the T Track. I also included pictures of “Lewis Hyperfirm†for side by side comparisons. Andy

Nathan, There is a thread about modding the Hasbro E11 scope. Someone went out and bought pipe fittings and plexiglass to mod the scope. Also there is a good tutorial about cutting the scope and the rail off and putting on a more acurate one with a replica resin one from "Doopy Doo's". It turned out awesome. One thing I did notice is that the plastic rib sholder straps need to be closer to the back plate. I still do not see about the "white elastic" Take some shots of the front, side and back. So far, your build looks great! Andy P.S. are you going to be at the "Toy Show" at Monroeville, Pa next month? Andy

What would be helpful is explain "due to the restrictions placed upon us by Disney."? What are they. This is helpful so that people can know what they can work with. Andy

Your armor looks great! The scope pictures seem dark. Can you lighten them up or take some more with better light? Andy

Vern, I was thinking of putting the pieces on a pvc tube. It would be less prone to breaks and chiping than resin. Yea or Nea? Andy

Vern, Did you know about this. http://www.wlawarehouse.com/store_front/sterling/sterling-receiver-factory-seconds/ Andy

Vern, I think Apex or another vender has the pars prepped and cleaned. I was thinking of going this route I worry about BTAF Laws? Can anyone explain in "Sterlings builds for Dummies" how to build a Sterling Mark IV with a parts kit that would be acceptable? Andy

No problem. This will be a "BIG HELP" to our community! Do you think that you could create a stencil for the "Traps" "Tears"? Andy

Al, Very Impressive! What did you use for the two middle metal pins? Andy

This is a work in progress. I still have to pick up the French Blue paint. For the tube stripes on my helmet I am going to paint them on. The more and more I thought about it and looked at my decals I thought this is going to be harder that I thought. I was thinking maybe I should make a stencil and go from there. For the stencil I went to the craft section in Wal-Mart and bought blank Stencils. You get 3 sheets for a couple of bucks. The other accessories I used are, my “Fisher Space pen”, tape, cutting pad, scissors and xacto knife. I first taped the tube stripes from the AP kit to the back of the Stencil so it stays put. Then I used my “Fisher Space pen” to trace the outline of the stripes on the stencil. The “Fisher Space pen” writes on any surface. It is a well worth investment. The process is tedious. Take your time. After the stripes are traced, remove the decals from the Stencil paper. Take the Xacto blade and carefully and slowly cut out the “Tube stripes” following the pen marks and indentions that were made when tracing. When finished, use the scissors to cut the stencil from the paper and remove any remaining pieces. When cutting use judgment and leave space on all sides so there is room for the tape to hold the stencil on the helmet. I showed the results by putting the “decals” under the stencil. When ready, place and line up the Stencil on the tube of the helmet, then tape it so it stays put and then paint. I hope this helps out those who want to paint the “Tube stripes” instead of using the decals. Andy

I just obtained two real Henglester counters. An Eagle "Type 400" and a “Type 478”. I have put all three side by side with a Resin one and took pictures for comparison and a reference. The difference between the “400” and “478” version that I notice is that the “478” does not have the Eagle logo, the two digits on the end are the same black and white as the rest of the numbers. Also there is a screw on the top. Besides that they are basically the same. I know there are metal sleeves. The sleeves I have are plastic not metal. I have to cut out the “400” one so the eagle shows. What do you think? Andy

I have the same problem at work. It hangs and says that I can not connect? Andy